


God of Madness

by sockiesock



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, VenturianTale Characters (Web Series)
Genre: Demigods AU, F/M, Gen, Laistrygonian Giants, Trans Character, tagged for percy jackson because it takes place in that universe/at camp half blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25257316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sockiesock/pseuds/sockiesock
Summary: Arriving at Camp Half-Blood can be pretty terrifying. It’s especially scary when you’re forced to worry about your friends on the outside for months straight.Thankfully for Johnny Toast, he’s finally free to go home for the school year. Surely nothing’s happened to his girlfriend, Mary, right?
Relationships: Gavin Toast & Johnny Toast, Johnny Ghost & Johnny Toast, Johnny Toast/Mary Toast
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	God of Madness

**Author's Note:**

> i know the beginning to this is a little rough, pls forgive me i haven’t written anything in like a year...
> 
> chapter warnings: very small mentions of drugs and wine, parent death, foster care, and some general violence/mentions of death.

I don’t know what happened.

The last thing I remember…

Gavin and I were packing to head back home. We’d spent the last 2 months at Camp Half-Blood, a place for those who were the children of a God or Goddess.

The summer had been all sorts of chaos, from almost getting murdered on my first day at camp, to making friends even more crazy than I was, to almost getting murdered by a said friend (separate occasion to almost-murder Number One).

However, the only thing I could think of all summer was Mary. My first love, my best friend (although my new psycho murderer friend is gaining on her)... When I joined camp, I was left unaware of her safety. Remember how I said I was almost murdered on my first day? Well, Mary (and my siblings and my mother) was with me, too. We were being chased by some mythological (or so I thought) creature. Mary, my sister, and my mother couldn’t enter the confines of camp, since they’re not demigods.

I worried about her every single day. I didn’t know if I would ever see her (or my mom or sister, but they’re less important) again. I tried bringing it up to my brother, but he had bigger fish to fry, it seemed. He never listened.

I tried venting to my father, Dionysus (or Mr. D, as camp knows him), but he was too busy running camp.

The only person who listened was my new friend, who, funnily enough, was named Johnny, like me.

I confided in him during capture the flag. We hung out in the boys’ room during the game, since neither of us were particularly athletically inclined (or very popular).

“I’m so worried about my girlfriend,” I said to him, words muffled by my oversized helmet. I was sitting against the wall, on the floor.

Johnny was leaning against the counters with the sinks. His helmet was on the floor next to him. “You have a girlfriend?”

“Yes,” I nodded, and decided to take off my helmet. “Mary. I haven’t seen her since I came to camp, and I don’t have any way of contacting her.”

“Is she British too?” 

I tilted my head and sighed, hoping for a bit more intelligent conversation.

“...Sorry. I know how you feel, though. I came to camp with my friend Katrina… She was here for a while, but went out on a quest. A few months before you showed up, actually. She hasn’t been back since.” Johnny shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to her.”

“How do you deal?”

“I don’t know,” his voice got soft, something alarmingly uncharacteristic for him, “I try to forget. I haven’t thought about her again until now.”

“How can you just forget!?” I stood up. “How can you not spend every moment worrying about her?”

“Man, I’ve got a PhD in Repressing Memories and a Bachelor’s in General Memory Loss. Forgetting is kind of my thing. It’s uh… how I cope, I guess.”

“We’re very different.”

He gave me a not-so-toothy grin (he had lost a few teeth due to getting into fights all the time). “Opposites attract, right, Johnny?”

...So, anyway, back to what I remember.

Gavin and I were packing. I decided to bring up Mary one more time.

“I hope we see Mary back home.”

Gavin glanced and me and huffed. “You and that Mary.”

“Am I not allowed to be concerned for one of my friends?”

My brother shoved a few shirts in his backpack and then swung it over his shoulder. “I’m just hoping we have a bag of Mini Cheddars to come home to.”

I punched him in his arm. “You’re awful.” Then I swung my own backpack on and walked out of our cabin.

Our father was announcing something to the campers. I walked by him and he stopped me.

“Johnny. You have a good summer?”

I shifted my weight from foot to foot. “I don’t know,” I glanced at the floor. “I’m still worried…”

“About Mary?”

I nodded. “What if she’s not there when I get back?”

Mr. D put a hand on my shoulder. “I, uh… Don’t think you got much to worry about, son.”

I met his eyes. “You don’t do a good job at reassuring.”

He sighed. “Well, you two are the only sons I’ve had in years… Sorry if I’m out of practice.”

“...I’ll see you next summer, dad.” I made my way to the entrance of camp. My dad called after me, something about smuggling wine in next year. So weird… but I wasn’t against the idea.

Johnny ran to catch up with me. “Hey!”

“Hey.” I looked to him. “I thought you were a year-rounder?”

“I am,” he nodded. “But I thought… Maybe I’ll take a break from camp. I’ve been here since I was… well, as long as I can remember.”

“Are you going to stay with your father?”

He paused. “Um… hey, you’re rich, right?”

“I’m comfortable.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, how many bedrooms do you have?”

“Um… There’s my parents’ room, my sister’s room, and the room my brother and I share, then we have 2 guest rooms. So… 5? Seven if you count the basement and the attic. They’re decked out so we use them for sleepovers sometimes, so we don’t have to mess up our bedrooms.”

“...Jesus Christ,” he looked like he was going into shock.

“Isn’t it a bit funny to be saying that, considering…?”

He shook it off. “Um, anyway, I was wondering… Could I, like, stay with you?”

I stopped walking. “Johnny… I barely know you.”

“I know, I know! But—”

“You tried to stab me the first time we met.”

“That wasn’t me! Just listen—”

“Why can’t you just stay with your parents—”

“I don’t have any!” He yelled.

We were both silent for a minute.

“...I don’t have any. My dad… he died when I was a little kid. That’s why I’ve been staying at camp. I was in foster care before I came here.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I’m… sorry if I’m asking too much, but, you’ve got so much room in your house… I just wanna know what it’s like to live a semi-normal life. Not at a camp with a bunch of weirdos who talk about astrology and old Greek stories and shit like that.”

I sighed. “Sorry for being rude. I’m sure I can convince my mother to let you stay… If she’s… still…”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Now, let’s go!” He grabbed my hand and we raced towards the end of camp.

It was an hour and a half walk back to a bus stop, then another half-hour walk to another bus, then one more half-hour walk to our home. A little scary, when you’re a demigod, since a monster can attack you anytime, anywhere. Thankfully, we made it to our house without much trouble.

I knocked on our front door and held my breath. I held my brother’s hand, and surprisingly, he was shaking. Seemed I wasn’t the only one who was nervous about this meeting.

After what felt like hours (but was probably just a few minutes), my mother came to the door. Her face lit up as she saw us, and she pulled me and Gavin into a bear hug. After a lot of “I miss you”s and “I love you”s and what not, we all pulled apart.

Johnny, clearly feeling left out, muttered “Hi.”

My mom looked to him, confused but welcoming to this random homeless boy on our front porch.

“Oh, mom,” I stepped aside to introduce him. “This is a friend I made at camp, Jo—”

“Johnny Ghost, ma’am,” he extended a hand to shake, “son of Hecate.”

“Funny,” she said, shaking his small hand. “Your name’s Johnny Ghost, and my son’s name—”

“Yes, mom, we’ve all heard it before,” Gavin said with an eyeroll, disappointed in not being part of the joke.

My mom gave him a look, and we all went inside.

My little sister, Jenny, was sitting at the TV, playing _Minecraft_ on Gavin’s Xbox. I guess she kept herself busy while we were away.

I called out to her, and she turned and ran to give me and my brother a hug. I repeated Johnny’s introduction. 

The next few hours are kind of blurry, now, I was just so happy to see them again. To see they were safe and relatively unharmed. I do remember explaining all that happened at camp (leaving out any dangerous circumstances, such as being attacked by the scrawny boy sitting next to me).

Once I was fully caught up with my family, I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been plaguing me all summer.

“So… where’s Mary?”

My mom smiled. “She was here a few hours ago. She should be at the mall now.”

As soon as I heard that, I sprinted out of the house. The mall was only a 10 minute walk (6 with the speed I was running). Johnny and Gavin followed close behind.

They both were out of breath by the time we got there, but not me. I wouldn’t stop until I found her.

Thankfully, she was sitting right outside.

“M - Mary!” I huffed out (okay, maybe I was a little out of breath).

She looked to the sound of my voice and ran towards me. I pulled her into my arms and then into a kiss.

When we pulled away, I couldn’t stop smiling. “Mary… I was so worried! I’m so glad you’re alright!”

She stroked my face and smiled back up at me. “Same here… When I hadn’t heard from you I thought…”

“There are no phones at camp,” I explained.

“I see.”

Behind us, Johnny muttered, “So she _is_ British.”

At the sound of his voice, I turned to him. “Ah… Mary, this is—”

Once again, he felt the need to interrupt me. “Johnny Ghost, son of Hecate.”

Mary laughed. “Your last name is Ghost, and you’re the son of the goddess of ghosts?”

He smiled. “I’m also an aspiring PI.”

“Private investigator?”

“ _Paranormal._ ”

Mary laughed again. “I’m Mary. It’s nice to meet you.” Then she moved to be in front of Gavin. “And Gavin! It’s nice to see you again, too.” She pulled him into a hug and he smiled at her.

Once she pulled away from him, we all sort of stood in a circle.

“Um… Johnny,” Mary started, and both me and Johnny Ghost turned our heads. Mary noticed the problem and faltered. She thought for a moment before coming up with a solution.

“Johnny Toast,” she gestured to me, “Why don’t we call you Johnny,” and then she gestured to Johnny Ghost, “and you can be just John.”

“I don’t wanna be John!” Johnny whined. “I’m _always_ Johnny! Only Katrina gets to call me John.”

Hearing her name, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad. “I’ll be John,” I offered. “My mom always said I should go by John anyway. More sophisticated.”

“You’re saying I’m not sophisticated?”

I tilted my head in annoyance at Johnny.

“Well, anyway,” Mary started again, “ _John_ , do you think you guys could walk me home? It’s getting a little late.”

“Sure thing,” I said with a smile, and I took her hand as we started to walk.

Despite being away from home for 2 months, I still remembered the area like the back of my hand. I reminisced about the best places in town, and Mary kept me up to date on the few changes that were made. An old friend moved out, and an elderly couple took his place. Our favorite restaurant was on the verge of closing.

“I guess since you weren’t able to go there everyday,” Mary explained, “They didn’t get much other business.”

“I _am_ their best customer, after all.”

Even Gavin chuckled at the idea. “Maybe if they served actual food people would go there more often.”

That made me and Mary laugh. They were definitely not known for their meals… The only reason they went is because they turned a blind eye to teenagers coming in to smoke. The owner’s son was the town’s drug dealer.

...Not that I would know anything about that.

A few more minutes of walking had us all out of breath once again. Right as we passed an alleyway, Johnny complained, “Can we take a break? My binder is so… so tight.”

I nodded and we sat against a brick wall.

Johnny looked to Mary. “So, you seem to know a bit about the gods. You’re not a half-blood, are you?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’ve just always been interested in Greek mythology. And John’s mom filled in the blanks for me, I guess.”

Gavin fidgeted with his feet. “She’s my mom too,” he said.

“Um, yeah?”

“...Nevermind.” Gavin stood up, annoyed. “Can we keep walking? It’s getting late.”

Johnny whined something again, but Gavin cut him off.

“Do you see that guy?”

“Oh, yeah, I saw him when we were walking to the mall,” I responded.

“Holy shit,” Mary said and stood up.

We all turned to her. “...What?” Gavin asked.

“Wh… don’t you see that?” she pointed to the guy, who was walking right towards us. “He’s — that’s —”

Johnny squinted and then started to share her panic. “Guys, we should go.”

“What are you talking about?” Gavin asked.

“I know it’s hard for us to see,” Johnny started, “But that’s _no_ human. That’s a monster.”

“That’s really rude. Just because he looks scary…”

“No, look, really _look_.”

I turned to squint at the man, but he was right in front of us.

“Um.” was all I could say. Up close, I could definitely tell there was something _different_ about him. But what, I probably couldn’t tell you. Until...

“Howdy,” he said, giving us a hand to shake and a lopsided grin. That’s when I noticed his teeth were sharper than any human’s I’d ever seen, and his hand was big enough to squash my head in a second. We all screamed and started running as the man… thing seemed to grow right in front of us.

“Canadian!” Johnny yelled. I don’t know what prompted that, but I didn’t have time to worry when I was running for my life.

The thing was huge, so I knew we could never outrun it with our skinny teenager legs. Thankfully, I was given a sword at camp, so I unleashed it from its holder and turned to face the giant.

I totally underestimated its size. I was paralyzed in fear as I looked up at the thing. My eyes were wide and all I could do was stare.

He said something to me (I was too terrified to process it) and brought a hand down to attack me. Thankfully, my brain decided to work, and I swung my sword at his hand… It didn’t seem to do much, though.

“Toast, it’s not worth it!” Johnny yelled to me. “Run!”

It was too late for that, though. The monster flicked my sword out of my hand and pinned me to the ground with one hand. I struggled to breathe and struggled to get the huge hand off of me. I yelled for help, but nobody knew what to do.

I mean, what _can_ you do when there’s a giant that’s about a million times your size pinning down your friend?

I expected to die there. I had already started to black out. But then, I felt some sort of power coursing through me.

And then I woke up in the hospital.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i’m planning on adding more to this story/this au, so if you’re interested, please leave a comment to let me know!


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